THE FAB FIVE
It was quite interesting — and a bit irritating — to read illprepvb.com founder Phil Brozynski’s inaugural list of inductees for the website’s Illinois Volleyball Coaches Hall of Fame.
It was interesting whom he selected. A nice job, although I felt there were two “musts” who were left off the 22-coach list.
It was irritating to discover it wasn’t just Brozynski’s inaugural volleyball Hall of Fame class, it was the first volleyball Hall of Fame list ever done.
It’s dumbfounding, with how great girls and boys volleyball is in Illinois, there has never been an Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
It was supposed to happen around two years ago, according to Brozynski.
“I received a phone call from the coaches association,” Brozynski said. “The caller said, ‘How would you like to work on putting together a hall of fame?’ I said, ‘I’d love to. Let me know what you need.’
“Well, I never heard back. In my mind, girls volleyball has always been the premier girls sport in Illinois. This spring, I felt it was about time we recognized volleyball coaches who really do a phenomenal job here in Illinois.”
I couldn’t agree more.
The Southland is represented by five coaches. They were led by the most successful coach in Southland volleyball history.
Nancy Pedersen coached at Mother McAuley from 1983 through 2004. Her Mighty Macs won nine state championships and made 16 state appearances. They also won 22 regional, 16 sectional and 19 conference titles.
Good luck getting her to brag.
“What does it tell me?” Pedersen said.
“That I had some pretty fantastic people to work with. If it wasn’t for the support staff, coaches, families, friends and talented players, it wouldn’t have been possible.
“What gives me the warmest feeling is how many of my players went on to be successful coaches themselves.”
Current McAuley coach Jen DeJarld, for one, has had a stellar career that includes two state titles and one national title. She will be in the Hall of Fame sooner than later.
Another deserving member is Joliet Catholic coach Christine Scheibe. Since 2003, she has taken 10 teams to state, winning three championships. She’s only 10 victories away from 600.
“Looking at some of those names, sometimes I feel like I don’t belong in that group,” Scheibe said. “These are people that, when I started, I looked up to as the standard of the coaching world. To be listed among them is really an honor.”
Scheibe will at least take some credit where credit is due.
“My goal when I came to Joliet Catholic was to make the program a perennial powerhouse,” Scheibe said. “But I also wanted it, for the girls, to be about more than just the volleyball. Hopefully, I had an influence on them becoming competitive, good people in life.”
She did, as did Joann Holverson during a standout career at Sandburg and LincolnWay Central where she coached both the boys and girls.
During the 1998-99 school year, Holverson coached the girls to the state title in the fall and the boys to the state championship in the spring.
“To be in an inaugural Hall of Fame, how much more honored can you be?” Holverson said. “I know that I worked hard, but there were a lot of other really good coaches who worked hard but just never had the talent. I consider luck to be as much a factor as coaching talent.”
Neither of the final two Southland coaches named won a state title. But if a body of work and effort counts, Linda Vivona and Nan Airola certainly belong.
During her 34-year career, Vivona coached at Lourdes, Queen of Peace, Lincoln-Way and Lincoln-Way East. She won 765 matches, and in 1995 took Queen of Peace to the state quarterfinals.
Airola has the most wins of any Southland coach, with 919 in 38 seasons. She directed three teams to state, including a third-place finisher in 1988.
If you’re wondering who my two “musts” were that didn’t make the cut, Lockport girls coach Julia Hudson and Brother Rice boys coach Paul Ickes are simply Southland coaching legends.
I could write reams about both — and will next year. Right, Phil?